Scots Win Streak Ends with Home Loss to Cornell

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (01/11/2024) — The Monmouth College men's basketball team led at halftime but ultimately lost at home to Cornell College 63-52 on Wednesday night. The loss ends a six-game win streak for the Fighting Scots (9-6, 3-3) as they head to Ripon this weekend.

The Rams broke out to a quick 7-0 lead before Declan Flynn (Monmouth, Illinois) finally got the Scots on the board with a bucket at the rim. Flynn made two free throws and Yuvraj Sidhu (Coppell, Texas), returning from an ankle injury, scored at the rim. With the Rams leading 13-6, Jordan HIll (Chicago, Illinois) got into the scoring column with a layup and neither team scored for the next 3:30. David WIlliams (Loves Park, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 7:30 to play in the half and Turner Plumer (Canton, Illinois) hit two free throws to tie the game at 13.

Brennen McNally (Paw Paw, Illinois) scored in the lane for the first Monmouth lead at 15-13, capping a 13-2 run. Cornell scored their first points in more than seven minutes with two free throws to tie the game before Plumer picked up a dunk. The Rams got their first field goal in 8:30 and the 3-pointer gave them an 18-17 lead. Williams answered with a 3-pointer of his own off a feed from Ganon Greenman (Alpha, Illinois). HIll followed with an acrobatic 3-point play for a 23-18 Scots lead. Flynn's block led to a 3-pointer from Kyle Taylor (Moline, Illinois) and the Scots pushed the lead to 26-18. The Rams finished the half on a 6-2 run with Max Maring (Port Byron, Illinois) scoring the final Monmouth points of the half for a 28-24 lead.

The Rams started the second half with an 8-0 run and forced a Monmouth timeout with 17:17 to play. Cornell scored the next four out of the timeout to lead 36-28 before Taylor hit a 3-pointer for Monmouth's first points in 6:30. The Rams answered with a 3-pointer and added another basket to force a Scots timeout at 41-31 with 13:07 to play. Taylor hit another 3-pointer out of the timeout and Jason Huber (Carpentersville, Illinois) hit a 3-pointer. After the Rams scored, Greenman got a layup and Plumer cut the lead to 43-41 with two free throws. Greenman scored to make it 46-44 before the Rams scored four straight. Flynn ended the run with a baseline jumper but the Rams hit another 3-pointer to lead 53-46.

The Scots scored four points on one possession as Huber scored, missed his free throw and Plumer had the putback. The Rams got a layup to lead 57-50 and then after missing a free throw they beat the shot clock with a basket. The Rams added two free throws to go on top 61-50. Taylor scored at the rim but the Rams finished off the game with free throws to win 63-52.

Taylor led the Scots with 11 points while Plumer had eight. Hill had a team-leading six rebounds and Greenman had three assists.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Taylor has scored at least 10 points in 11 games this season. Monmouth was 6-of-24 from 3-point range and shot 30.2% from the field. The Scots out-rebounded Cornell 37-33. Cornell has won the last nine against Monmouth dating back to a Fighting Scots win on Feb. 3, 2019. The Rams swept the Scots last season, including a win in the Midwest Conference Tournament semifinals. Sidhu played for the first time since injuring his ankle on Nov. 14 against Concordia-Chicago. Williams, who returned from a heel bruise last Wednesday, started for the first time since Nov. 21. Monmouth is 6-17 against Cornell under Coach Skrivseth, including 4-7 at home. The Scots lead the all-time series 81-76. The teams will play again at Cornell on Feb. 14. The Fighting Scots play at Ripon at 1 p.m. Saturday and the next home game is next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Grinnell.